--Phillip Daniels could have been cold or even hostile to Adam Carriker, the younger newcomer trying to take the left defensive end job he had owned when healthy for six years.

But the 37-year-old Daniels not only welcomed the 26-year-old Carriker, a protege of new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, they've become good friends and workout partners.

"I've played 15 years," Daniels said. "It's time for a young guy to come in and make his way. Adam's definitely the future here. They know what I can do. I'm 37. They want to keep me fresh. And we're going to rotate like crazy. We're both kinda the same kind of player. He's a strong guy, too. There won't be any upset feelings if he's the starter. I just want to win games. Our goal is to shut down the left side."

Carriker, who missed all of 2009 with a shoulder injury -- Daniels was sidelined for all of 2008 with a knee -- feels the same way.

"I have tremendous respect for Phillip," Carriker said. "He's a good man and a good player, but my goal is obviously to be the starter. Phillip and I both fit this defense very well. We're both very strong. We like to be physical. We like to bang."

Carriker opened preseason with a bang, pressuring Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards into a hurried throw that was intercepted by cornerback DeAngelo Hall and returned 33 yards to set up Washington's first touchdown in a 42-17 romp in the Aug. 13 opener.

"Adam's back in his comfort zone," Haslett said. "We tried to make him a 3-technique and a nose, and even back then in St. Louis, he would go back in the 2-gap and want to be physical. He's a perfect left end. He and Phillip will man that side. I don't think we can get any better. Adam is 6-foot-6, 315 (pounds). Phillip is 6-6, 310. That's big bodies on the left side to stop the running game."

--Malcolm Kelly's 2010 season ended almost before it began. The third-year receiver strained a hamstring working out in Arizona with quarterback Donovan McNabb the week before training camp but was able to practice on the first day, July 29. But when the Redskins went to team drills the next day, Kelly had aggravated the injury. Three days later, after intense treatment, Kelly tried to run and felt the hamstring tear again. He was only able to work on the side of practice over the next three weeks. Kelly finally returned on Aug. 30 only to injure the hamstring again, causing his placement on injured reserve the next day.

"I think he understands that he's got to get on the field and he hasn't been able to do that," said coach Mike Shanahan, who didn't commit to keeping Kelly around all season. "He's got a lot of qualities you look for in a football player. The main thing is: can he get out there on the football field eventually and play?"

Kelly, 6-4 and 226 pounds with good hands, only played in five games as a rookie because of lingering knee problems that led some teams to shy away from him in the 2008 draft in which the Redskins chose him in the second round. He had just three catches for 18 yards that year but won the starting job in preseason 2009. However, his poor route running earned him a return to the bench after he caught just seven passes for 73 in the first five games. He had just 12 catches for 161 yards the next 10 games until a career-best five grabs for 109 yards in last year's finale.

With Kelly out, rising youngster Anthony Armstrong seems sure to make the team behind veterans Santana Moss and Joey Galloway. Kelly's fellow 2008 second-rounder Devin Thomas and former Tennessee starter Roydell Williams could be next in line with rookies Terrence Austin and Brad Banks also in the mix ahead of veteran Bobby Wade.

--It took 18 games (seven in preseason), but Jeremy Jarmon finally recorded an NFL sack. It happened with a bull rush up the middle against Mark Brunell in the fourth quarter of the Aug. 27 victory over the Jets. Whether that helps the 22-year-old defensive end keep a roster spot is another matter.

Selected by Washington in the third round of last July's supplemental draft, the 6-3 , 270-pound Jarmon made the team as a backup and special teams player in the first 11 games before his season ended with a torn left ACL in Week 12.

While Jarmon was rehabbing, the Redskins changed coaching staffs and defensive schemes. New coordinator Jim Haslett asked Jarmon to slim down to move to outside linebacker. But after Jarmon slipped to 260 pounds, the coaches decided he belonged at end after all and asked him to bulk up to 295 by the start of training camp.

"It has been a grueling past 13 months. I've always been strong from my waist down, but my upper body strength has definitely improved," Jarmon said.

Phillip Daniels, one of the veteran ends who's ahead of Jarmon on the depth chart, had a whole year to recover from the ACL he tore in July 2008. "Tough" is how Daniels described the rapid road that the smart and athletic Jarmon has been on for nine months.

"Jeremy is a worker, a class individual, he's done everything he possibly could do," coach Mike Shanahan said. "I still think he's a little bit sore right now. You can seem him limping every once in a while, but he fights through the pain. You've got take your hat off to any guy that plays with that type of effort.

BY THE NUMBERS
17 -- Players remaining on the active roster from the 36 chosen during the previous six drafts run by departed front-office boss Vinny Cerrato. That total of 17 could well shrink with Saturday's cuts.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"The worst thing people do is keep a draft pick just to keep a draft pick." -- Coach Mike Shanahan after trading disappointing sixth-round TE/FB Dennis Morris to the Rams for a conditional draft pick.

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